AVVISO DI SEMINARIO PUBBLICO Dr. Lorenzo Rovigatti
mercoledì 13 giugno alle 14.00 in Aula Conversi si terrà il seminario del Dr. Lorenzo Rovigatti, vincitore di un contratto con il Programma Rita Levi Montalcini, che ha scelto la Sapienza per l'ospitalità del suo progetto di ricerca.
Titolo:
Modelling (bio)polymeric systems: softness and mechanics
Abstract:
Polymer-based objects exhibit a characteristic softness which depends on their microscopic architecture and deeply affects their behaviour.
In this talk I will present simulation results of two systems where softness and deformability are of utmost importance. First I will discuss the mechanical response of DNA origami, nano-constructs which are increasingly used in e.g. (nano)plasmonics, medicine, materials science. Second, moving towards larger length-scales, I will discuss microgels, micron-sized polymer networks that can respond to external stimuli and are used both for applications and fundamental physics. I will introduce a recently-developed model which faithfully reproduces their inner structure[2], opening up the possibility to investigate in depth the elasticity and deformability of the single particles. Finally, I will discuss the perspective of developing a soft-matter model for investigating nucleation in calcium carbonate, a molecular system nucleating through a multi-step pathway that includes the appearance of precursors resembling living polymers[3].
[1] M. C. Engel et al, ACS Nano (2018)
[2] N. Gnan et al, Macromolecules (2017)
[3] D. Gebauer et al, Chem. Soc. Rev. (2014)
